Benefits September 14, 2010

Financial Pros Heavy into Social Media

September 14, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new survey finds finance professionals primarily rely on LinkedIn as a job search tool, but 72% have a social media account to connect with family and friends.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

A news release about the Mergis Group Social Status survey said 88% have a Facebook site and 58% a LinkedIn profile. According to the announcement, 26% belong to MySpace; 24% Twitter; and 20% Classmates.com.

Of those financial professionals who have used social media in their job search (37%), LinkedIn is the predominant social media site, with 73% indicating usage. Facebook came in a distant second (32%).

When asked if their company had a formal policy regarding the usage of social media sites for work, 43% of finance workers said their company did not. On the contrary, 34% indicated that their company does have a formal policy, while 23% did not know.

Meanwhile, 74% percent of those responding said their Facebook page was their primary social media outlet. When asked how they conduct the majority of their networking, 45% of financial professionals revealed that they do so in e-mails or letters, etc. Some 28% primarily network face-to-face, while 15% do so via social media.

Forty-six percent of finance professionals use social sites to network with both personal contacts, such as friends and relatives, and with business contacts (such as co-workers, colleagues and managers/bosses).

According to the news release, up to 47% of finance workers say they might or would modify and/or delete content if they knew a prospective employer was going to review their page as part of the interview process.

“… social media is clearly making a migration into the job search and the workplace.” said Brendan Courtney, president of The Mergis Group, in the news release. “It is important for job seekers to be aware of what information they are sharing with prospective employers and colleagues within these networks and to understand just how far-reaching one’s digital footprint can be.”

The Mergis Group Social Status survey was conducted online by an independent third party research firm within the United States between July 14 and August 6, 2010, among a sample of 443 financial professionals.

The report is here.